I‘m not going to lie to you, I really like snow. Not in a “Hey look, it’s snowing!” type of way, but more of a “snow flows through my veins” kind of thing.

Some may say that I’m addicted to snow, but I’m not. I can stop anytime–but why would I? I’ll take as much snow as i can get. To me there is literally no downside to the white and fluffy stuff.

Driving in it? I wish I could do it year round. It makes driving fun again.

Shoveling and clearing it? One of the best winters of my life was when I lived in Summit Park at the top of Parleys Canyon in Park City where the snowfall is measured in feet, not inches. I cleared snow every day of that winter and loved every minute of it.When spring finally came I cried like a mother who had misplaced her baby.

As hard as I’ve tried, I can find absolutely nothing bad about the stuff (okay, I didn’t actually try that hard, but still…). The only remotely negative thing I can think of about snow is that it eventually melts. I wish it could stay longer. I love snow that much.

Luckily I live in Utah where we have snow aplenty. Even in a slow year we get hundreds of inches. Last year we were skiing until the Fourth of July. The only reason we stopped was…actually, I have no idea why we stopped. It certainly wasn’t for lack of snow.

So my permanent Utah ski vacation continues. This week I’m enjoying Solitude Mountain Resort. I may not have the best technique on the mountain, but I guarantee you I’ll have the biggest smile.

Share this:

I

A few days later I found myself riding a chairlift at Solitude Mountain Resort when I noticed yet another way things have changed—My kids will never experience the noggin-numbing wait of a long lift line. For them standing in a 10-minute lift line can turn a day from epic to bummer (and these days 10 minutes is a long wait at many resorts). They have no idea that back in the day 30- or 45-minute lines were not uncommon, and a short 10-minute lift line was worth calling home about (although we didn’t have cell phones so we’d have to trudge back to the lodge and spend a dime to use the payphone).

Now, not only are the lines shorter but the travel time to the top of the lift is faster as well.  What used to be a 20-minute or more journey has been reduced to 10 minutes or less. And don’t forget the number of people that fit on a chair. We once had an entire family reunion on one single lift chair. Really.

What it all comes down to is a lot less time waiting and a lot more time skiing. I don’t have official statistics, but I suspect the time we can now spend skiing has almost doubled from back in the day. At least I hope that’s the case. Otherwise why would my aching body be finished for the day by the time we break for lunch?

Share this:

But Movember isn’t about a simple mustache. In Movember men grow moustaches, and it’s all done for a good cause, men’s health. The fact that it annoys our wives is just a bonus.

Now as the month draws to a close I plan to return to my more familiar goatee. I’ve had my fun. I’ve tortured my wife long enough. Plus it will be nice to have her be willing to be seen in public with me once again.

~ If you’d like to join me in supporting this worthy cause visit http://us.movember.com/mospace/ ~

The mo will soon be gone, but the cause is still there.

Share this:

I

“Whitey (her favorite sibling, but black sheep of the family) has been feeling a little blue, so I thought I would give him my TV to try to brighten his mood,” I explained. Brilliant! A benevolent act for her beloved brother. Victory would me mine!

Or not.

A gray pall fell over the room. The sky outside was blue as…something that’s really, really blue…but the garage now seemed black as night. I kicked myself. I should’ve seen the red flags. Almost 15 years of marital bliss and I’m still somewhat of a greenhorn when it comes to understanding my wife.

“Oh, really?” she parried. “Last week you were saving it for a white elephant gift. And Whitey’s in Greenville fishing for Bluegill.” A mind like a steel trap, this one—memories go in, but they never come out. She can list every mistake I’ve ever made–alphabetically, chronologically, even anatomically.

So I tried a different tack.

“Darling, why don’t you and I paint the town tonight,” I smiled. “You look like you could use a little red carpet treatment.” Touché! This should tickle her pink.

“You yellow-bellied chicken liver!” she bellowed. “We go out once in a blue moon! You can’t just splash on some Aqua Velva, buy me a blue plate special,  and think I’ll forget about the leaves do you?!” Aqua Velva? I thought she loved the Aqua Velva.

“Grab the rake and get to work or you’ll be brown-bagging it for the next three months,” she unnecessarily added for emphasis.

I mean, I’m no blue blood, and I certainly wasn’t born with a silver spoon, but the thought of eating leftovers for 90 days made me a little green around the gills. So I waved the white flag; I would live to fight another day. She wanted me to collect the leaves. Make a big pile. No gray area on this one.

So I grabbed the rake and went outside. The colors seemed particularly bright this year.

Share this:

Daylight Savings Time had just ended a few days ago and the boys were having a hard time adjusting. Personally, I’m a big fan of the whole “spring back, fall forward” idea–I’ll take as much daylight as I can get, thank you–but as a parent I’m not sure I’m a big fan. It was just after yelling at them to do their homework for the third time and right before their seventh argument of the night when inspiration struck–I was going to reinstate Daylight Savings Time.

With the boys distracted for the moment by how much they hated each other and how mean their dad was, I hurriedly moved all the clocks forward. What moments before was a seemingly impossible 90 minutes until bedtime had suddenly changed to a much more manageable 20 minutes. And it worked; the boys weren’t the least bit suspicious.

Oh sure, when I told them they had only 20 minutes before their day was done they moaned and whined and once again reminded me how mean I was–but they would have done that anyway. All I had done was make it happen a little sooner. Brilliant. Simply brilliant.

So here I sit at my computer, finishing up my work for the night. It’s barely 8:10, but the only sounds in the house are the dishwasher running and the clock ticking on the wall. Now if I can just remember to reset the clocks to the correct time before I call it a night, I will have pulled off the perfect caper. They say crime doesn’t pay, but if this heavenly silence is the punishment I get then I’ll do it every time. And it just may be tomorrow.

Share this:

The Prizes

This week’s giveaway is all about fruits and vegetables. Three winners will each receive an assortment of Nutrilite Nutritional Supplements (ARV: $200).

• 2 NUTRILITE Fruits & Vegetables 2GO Twist Tubes (20 tubes per box)
• 2 NUTRILITE® Concentrated Fruits and Vegetables – (60 tablets per bottle)
• 2 NUTRILITE® Daily Multivitamin Multimineral – (90 tablets per bottle)
• 1 NUTRILITE® BRAINIUMS DHA® Supplement – Fruit Punch Flavor (about 112 gummies)

Entry Requirements

For a chance to enter and win, please complete the following requirements and leave a separate comment for each on this post, including links to your original tweets.

1. Follow @AmwayUS on Twitter.
2. Like the Amway US Facebook page.
3. Tweet the following:

• RT @Dadventurous Stop by the Amway Nutrilite FB page and show them some “Like” love! #AmwayNutrilite #Giveaway PLS RT http://on.fb.me/ttNfQi

• RT @Dadventurous GIVEAWAY! Enter 4 chance 2 win #AmwayNutrilite Nutrition Packs (ARV: $200) http://on.fb.me/NutriPrize #Giveaway PLS RT

Optional Entries

The following are extra entries that are completely optional and will earn you one extra entry for each completed item. Leave a separate comment on this post for each completed optional entry.

• Follow @Dadventurous on Twitter.
• Like Dadventurous on Facebook:

Terms and Conditions

Winners will be selected randomly through http://random.org. No purchase necessary to enter. Giveaway ends at 11:59 p.m. ET Tuesday, November 15. See all terms and conditions here. This giveaway is available to U.S. residents only. 

Share this:

While I’m pleased with the final edit that appeared in the magazine, I’m also quite fond of the original, uncensored version. Thus, for your reading pleasure, I present to you the full pre-edited version of “What He’s Really Thinking When Your Parents Come To Visit.”

“Hi Mom and Dad,” I nervously say as the in-laws drag their bags to the door. They’ve just arrived for their bi-annual inspection—I mean visit—and they’ll be here for the next seven long days. It’s not that I don’t like my wife’s parents, I actually enjoy them. It’s just the little quirks and idiosyncrasies that begin to add up as the week goes by. Things like insisting that I call them Mom and Dad. After 15 years of marriage it still makes me feel uncomfortable.  It’s the same feeling I had as a fifteen-year old boy working at the local supermarket. As part of my job I was required to recite the weekly special as the customers went through my line.

“Well, good morning Mrs. Piffleton,” I would cheerily say as my face began to turn red. “Did you notice our special price on MaxiTech Tampons today? If you’d like, Tommy can run and get you a box.” Awkward, right? Just like calling your in-laws Mom and Dad.

And things like the compliments that don’t really feel like compliments. “Oh look at you! Have you lost weight? You look so much better than last time,” exclaims Mom.

“So how is that job of yours?” asks Dad. “It’s a shame you still haven’t been promoted.”

And then there’s my wife. I believe it was Sun Tzu in The Art of War who said, “When momma ain’t happy, nobody happy.” The moment her parents step through the doorway she morphs from the calm, caring, and intelligent woman I married into a living caricature of that black and white theatre mask representing comedy and tragedy. She smiles and says something sweet to her parents, and then seamlessly turns and shoots me her time-perfected stink eye as if it’s my fault her parents are here.  The kids and I refer to this as her “Dr. Jekyll and Mrs. Hide-in-your-room-and-don’t-come-out-if-you-know-what’s-good-for-you” look.

When the week is finally over the tears flow freely—in my case, tears of joy and relief that our home will soon return to normal. After the luggage is loaded and the car begins to back away, my father-in-law stops and
reaches out his hand. With a mischievous look and a knowing chuckle he says, “Hang in there, sport. We’ll be back in six months.”

The (edited-but-still-awesome) version that appeared in Redbook can be viewed here.

Share this: